PSU: Best Action/Adventure Game of 2012

With the 2012 gaming calendar all but wrapped, there’s only one thing left to do – celebrate the year’s best titles spanning a variety of genres. However, PSU.com has this year decided to inject a little twist into the proceedings. Instead of deciding on things ourselves, we’ve given you, the PSU community, the keys to the castle so to speak, with the nominees and ultimate winners decided entirely by our loyal readers. Whether it’s Sports, RPG or Action/Adventure, you guys have been voting manically for the past seven days or so, deciding the cream of the crop among 2012’s gaming greats. Simply put, this is YOUR Game of the Year Awards.

So, without further ado, let’s crack on with our look at the Best Action/Adventure Game of 2012, as decided by you lovely chaps and chapettes.

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This year’s Action/Adventure category offered a smorgasbord of triple-A sequels topped off with some head-spinning new IPs for good measure. Aside from new entries in the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Hitman franchises, gamers also had the likes of The Walking Dead and Dishonored to tuck into, both of which have garnered glowing reviews from critics and players alike. Ultimately however, there can only be one winner, and the PSU Community prove overwhelming impressed by one particular brand…

And the winner is…

Assassin’s Creed III

Yep, Ubisoft’s annualized historical stab-‘em-up franchise proves that the brand power packs a serious punch, as Assassin’s Creed III takes the crown. It was a close call though, with both Dishonored and The Walking Dead also bagging plenty of attention. With this latest entry, AC fast-forwards to the American Revolution and places players in the boots of newcomer Connor Kenway, as he mixes it up with Red Coats and Colonials in the on-going battle against the Templars. Featuring a stunning new game engine, streamlined controls and heaps of quests, ACIII is a definitive step forward for the series, and it shows.

"Assassin's Creed III is deeper than I had time to cover here, and that's a good thing. There is simply so much to do and see that it's hard not to recommend this title, even to someone completely new to the assassins on-going battle against the Templars. However, it's also a game filled with problems that detract from the otherwise solid premise. Bugs, graphic glitches, lack of polish, and poor enemy A.I. all add up frustration, and just because a game has a lot to do, doesn't mean it's held together very well. However, if you want to step back in time and play a solid stealth action-adventure game, Assassins' Creed III is a great fit. There is simply so much content here that it would be a shame not to check this out."